Peak-hour commuters in Kolkata had a tough time on Monday as more than 7,000 private buses remained off the roads following a strike call in protest against "insufficient bus fare hike" announced by the West Bengal government last week.

The strike call was given by the Bengal Bus Syndicate and the Joint Council of Bus Syndicate.

Transport Minister Subhash Chakroborty has already rejected the unions' demand for a bigger fare hike. He told reporters on Sunday that the revision had been carried out after considering the requirements of both the bus operators and commuters.

The city's main thoroughfares had thin traffic on Monday morning, while long queues were seen on bus stops.

The state-run buses, tram cars and taxis were operating but were insufficient to cope with the peak hour demand.